March 24, 2008

Legislative Update

Dr. McGee asked that the first part of the President's Report include the Legislative Update in order to update the Board on what is happening in Tallahassee and also continue our discussion about offering limited baccalaureate degrees. Don Payton joined the meeting by phone, along with our Board Chair, Chris Dorworth, to help us with this discussion.

Leadership Academy

The 25 Leadership Academy participants will board a bus to Tallahassee on March 25 to see the Legislative process first-hand. Tomorrow night, we will have dinner with the Chancellor for Florida's Community Colleges, Dr. Will Holcombe. On Wednesday, they will be meeting on the 22nd floor of the Capitol where our own Board Chairman, Chris Dorworth, will lead off the discussion of what is really happening this Legislative session. Following the morning's sessions, they will journey to Florida State University for a discussion from the university perspective with Dr. T.K. Wetherell, President of FSU. All in all, it should be very informative!

Budget Workshop

Linda will contact each Board member to set a time for a Budget Workshop sometime in late May or early June.

Thank You!

A special thanks to Dick Hamann, the CTS staff and countless other SCC colleagues who successfully upgraded our PeopleSoft system during Spring Break. The team accomplished what they set out to do nearly 15 months ago. While the Financial System went live in March 2007, this latest upgrade was to Human Resources, Payroll/Time & Labor, Educational Programs, Campus Solutions, and the Portal, which moved from 8.0 to 8.9. We literally upgraded thousands of programs and system objects. In addition, more than 670 participants were trained in 68 instructional sessions. This upgrade creates many opportunities for process improvements and greater efficiencies in all areas of the College. Many congratulations to all who contributed to this success! We are very proud of your efforts!

American Institute of Architects Award

The Heathrow Center received a Design Award of Excellence from the Orlando Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. We can be very proud of the successful collaboration between SCC, PPI and the HuntonBrady team in delivering a showcase facility to SCC. In addition, the Central Florida Auto Dealers Professional Automotive Building won an Award of Merit. Congratulations to all!

Student Success

SCC Honors student Sarah Holland was selected for the First Team of the 2008 All-Florida Academic Team. The First Team members are eligible to be selected for the 2008 All-USA Academic Team. We should hear about those selections soon. Sarah is president of our Phi Theta Kappa Chapter. Other SCC nominees were Jennifer Woolf and Marissa Egipciaco, who made the 2008 Second Team. The students will be honored in Tallahassee on April 16. Congratulations!

SCC graduate, Satoshi Serizawa, was one of eight winners in the National Kitchen & Bath Association's (NKBA) Student Design Competition. He will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the NKBA conference in Chicago and a $1,500 scholarship. Satoshi originally moved to the United States to work for Disney World. He began at SCC in our English Language Studies Program and has won design awards two years running. Congratulations, Satoshi and the Interior Design faculty!

Orlando Museum of Art Donation

The Orlando Museum of Art has donated 11 art reproductions for display in SCC's classrooms.

Faculty Achievements

I am proud to announce that we have a new doctorate on the faculty. Dr. Janet Selitto, English Professor, recently earned her doctorate from Nova Southeastern University. Congratulations, Janet!

Mr. Gus Beckstrom, a retired 33-year law enforcement officer with the Winter Park Police Department and instructor for SCC's Criminal Justice Institute, was thanked in the foreward of the Florida Criminal Law and Motor Vehicle Handbook for assisting Lexis Nexis in compiling the publication. Congratulations, Gus!

Graduations

Just a reminder that our graduation ceremonies are just around the corner.

• GED, April 29
• Adult High School, April 30
• Commencement, May 1

Did you know?

Students can earn an Associate in Arts (A.A.), Associate in Science (A.S.) degree or technical certificate at SCC.